I recommend that you all read what he says in this transcript of his interview with Bill Moyers, and read it well.
I think in this day and age, the media's gotten rather lazy. They seem themselves as simple pass-through conduits for information, rather than condensers and interpreters looking to get to deeper information. They gladly accept limited soundbites, and make that the story, instead of telling the viewers what they might be interested to find out.
For one, they might be interested to know what Rev. Wright means by Unashamedly Black and unashamedly Christian. They could at least summarize the embrace of black culture in the church, and of the Christian Church in a time where some blacks said that Christianity was a white man's religion.
They could talk about his attitude that instead of trying to impose our more European culture on those they mission towards, that they leave the culture at home and preach the essential principles of Christianity instead, letting that develop within the culture already there.
They could talk about how he explained his "Chickens come home to roost" sermon, detailing his theme of moving away from the thirst for revenge, it's message of caution in the face of the temptation to become the brutal avengers, unconcerned about the deaths of innocent people.
They could talk about his defense of the "God Damn America" sermon, where he talks about the imperfection of wordly governments, and the price their arrogance can bring upon people.
What did they fix upon instead? What they saw as Wright's response to the media controversy, the pundits jumping on the ambiguities in his delineation of what Obama had to say as a politician.
Does it make you angry? I'm sure it might, for many reading this, for those who took my advice and read through the transcript. How does this happen?
Well, like I said before, the media has gotten pretty lazy, at least when it comes to dealing with complex stories and absorbing information as a whole. Putting my storyteller hat on, here's my take: They're looking for the easiest points to deliver to an audience whose intelligence they don't think highly of, at the same time they're looking to fit this story fully in the realm of Obama's campaign. The pundits, especially, are sometimes looking for the slightest hint of dirt to dig up.
What can you do at this point? Well, let's review what we can't do at this point: First, we can't take back any of that foolishness. Second, we can't prevent some pundits from misinterpreting things. Third, we can't keep some in the media from moving on too quickly from this to really register what's actually been said.
What can we do?
First, there are some good talking points in here. We've got one of the best explanations of those words, Unashamedly black, unashamedly christian, that we've heard in a while. Second, I think given the interpretation he offers, we can parse the GD America down to it's logical core: governments should not be given total deference, because they can and often do fail their people, that It's God people should put their faith in. We should highlight, in turn other aspect of prophetic preaching: this isn't about patriotism or treachery, but about the proper placement of God and Country in the order of things. C.S. Lewis, Martin Luther King and other well respected religious figures spoke in similar veins, Lewis particularly when talking about The Four Loves.
Third, we can explore the social side of his comments here.
But overall, what we can do?
When the media runs over something like this and doesn't even get it, don't despair. Communicate. Blog about it. Don't learn helplessness, not in this day and age. If the media's in too much of a hurry, if it's not willing to go into greater depth, that doesn't mean we can't do that in their stead. If they want to catch up later, all the better.
Don't rely on the media, or on hatred of the media, to spread your word.
